


Summer Weather

by pinkdrinksandmusic



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Domestic, M/M, every day life in summer, just Laurent experiencing summer weather in Ios
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 22:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15205325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkdrinksandmusic/pseuds/pinkdrinksandmusic
Summary: Laurent gets to experience summer in Ios.





	Summer Weather

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly this fic is just how summer is feeling to me right now. Super hot during the day, lots of humidity, and then it rains and cools down for the night, doesn't feel humid anymore, and then rinse and repeat. I look forward to the rain a lot in summer lol.

Laurent had never known heat like this. Even the heat from their campaign from Vere through Akielos paled in comparison. This heat wasn’t only high, but humid and muggy.

Of course Laurent didn’t let that effect the way he held himself. He kept his back straight and didn’t gripe, but once the day was over and he entered his room, he let the weight of the heat bring his shoulders down. He was free of eyes that expected him to be perfect. The only person in the room besides him was Damen, and they had been together long enough that he was as familiar and comfortable with Damen as he was with himself.

He peeled his clothes that were damp with sweat off as he walked further into his room, his pants a bit more difficult since they were practically glued to his legs. He had to shake and kick them off.

Damen had already stripped off his chiton and was lying on his stomach on the bed. The day had been long and hot for them both, but he held himself perfectly. As always he was a king among kings.

After undressing he finally felt like he could sort of breathe again, even though every inch of his body was covered in dried sweat under new sweat.

Laurent climbed on the bed and practically fell on Damen’s back, his leg between Damen’s and his check pressed against Damen’s shoulder blade.

“It’s hot,” he said, his lips moving against Damen’s skin as he did.

Damen was always warm in a way that was pleasant to him. Now he could feel even more sweat where they touched.

Laurent admitted to himself that he didn’t mind it too much. There was always something about Damen covered in his own oils that pleased some deep part of him. Damen grunted or mumbled something at him, but Laurent’s eyes were closed as he slipped into a daydream of a sweaty Damen pressing against him as they kissed.

“That tickles,” Damen mumbled, and Laurent hummed. He had been lightly tracing a pattern against Damen’s skin. He pressed his hand flat against Damen’s back and moved it up to his shoulder and down to his bicep, feeling the muscle there. They laid like that for awhile, until Laurent pushed up, kissed Damen’s arm and back, and then rolled off, sticky from sweat where they touched, and spread out on his back with his hands above his head and his feet hanging off the end of the bed.

He turned to the window. The sun was still far too bright and took far too long to set in the summer. Ios had the longest days Laurent had ever experienced.

Laurent didn’t hate summer. Damen had taught him how to swim and there were some water games they played together that were a lot of fun. There was a certain kind of liberating freedom that came with dressing down and just…being naked in his room. He was even a little more familiar with being naked outside of his room and in the halls of Ios. It helped that everyone around him was used to it as if it were truly normal.

Damen also looked gorgeous. Summer was fitting for him. He loved the gold in Damen’s eyes when he was in the sunlight. Damen loved swimming and just being in the water and Laurent enjoyed seeing him like that. He also liked Damen in Akielon clothing, with his arms and legs bare and sometimes covered in sweat, especially when he put lesser swordsmen or wrestlers on their backs or knees. Laurent liked that a lot.

But there were negatives that came with summer, as with everything, and the humid heat was way up there. Days when it was too hot to do anything outside of work than laze in bed, waiting and hoping for a cool wind to free him. It was too hot to focus on reading anything he didn’t _have_ to, the last time he tried sweat dripped from his face to the page. He didn’t try again. It was too hot to go horse riding, too hot to sneak away for an adventure or play, too hot to make love to Damen who, unless he was in the water, just wanted to laze around himself. 

“Let’s go swimming,” Damen suggested, his voice low and rough. Laurent liked it when he spoke to him like that. It felt intimate. Even though him mentioning swimming after Laurent was just thinking about it almost made him laugh, but it was too hot for that too.

“You go swimming.”

“Without you?”

“We don’t do everything together.”

He looked over and saw Damen watching at him. He looked tired; it drew Laurent to him, until he was rolling on his side and pushing Damen’s curls out of his eyes. His hand lingered on his cheek, rough with stubble, and rubbed his thumb along his cheekbone.

“I’ll just burn if we go swimming.”

“Maybe you’ll get more freckles if you do,” Damen said as he turned his head and kissed his palm.

Laurent smiled softly. “I’m sure you’d like that.”

Damen just returned his smile, a bit of a glint in his eye.

“They look good on you.”

“Everything looks good on me.”

“That’s true.” Damen gave his palm another kiss before his hand fell to the bed between them. Damen traced his blue veins with his fingers. “You should wear a chiton. I was afraid you were going to give yourself a heat stroke. Your Veretian clothing is too tight. I don’t know how you were able to breathe today.”

“Lots of practice.”

“We can go to the baths instead.”

“You and water,” Laurent said.

“It’s shaded and there’s a cold bath. I’m sure you remember, seeing as how you dumped cold water on my head,” Damen said, smiling fondly at the memory.

“That was at the summer palace, not here.”

“It’s the same.”

“Give me a minute. I don’t want to move yet.”

But Damen wasn’t waiting, he rolled off the bed and stretched. Laurent let himself look at him, a sight he’d never grow tired of.

“Yes?” Damen said when he caught him staring. He was smirking in that lazy confidence he radiated naturally.

“You look good.”

He watched Damen’s smirk transform into an almost giddy smile. The fact that he was able to make this man – this experienced, confident, dominant, powerful man – act so foolishly pleased with simple compliments was always overwhelming.

“Thank you. You always look good.” Damen held his hand out for him to take.

Laurent lifted his chin. “I know.” And then he took Damen’s hand and let him haul him up from bed and close to him with ease. Laurent tilted his head back and let Damen give him a quick kiss before moving out of his space to leave for the baths.

Laurent had to stop himself from looking for something for them to wear on the way there, and instead just grabbed for Damen’s hand and walked with him to the baths.

 

 

By the time they were out of the baths, the sun had set, the temperature had dropped, it no longer felt muggy out, and Laurent was covered in wrinkles from losing track of time in the bath.

The water had been cold in an unwelcoming way at first, but once his body got used to it, it just felt so good. Damen had actually been the one who suggested they get out first, but Laurent knew what was waiting for him outside of the bath: muggy misery.

Now that changed. The sun was covered by dark clouds and there was a chill in the air.

“How could the weather drop this much?” Laurent said as they walked back in their room. Damen went straight to the balcony and Laurent followed.

“Looks like it’s going to rain,” Damen said, looking at the dark clouds gathering. As if in answer, it started to thunder.

“The air feels good,” Laurent said, enjoying the feeling of the cool air on his skin. There had been little wind, practically none at all, and now they had a cool wind coming from the north.

He felt Damen’s fingers brush against his arm.

“Let’s go to bed. It’s getting cold out here.”

“In a minute. I like watching the rain.”

The sky rumbled and the downpour of rain started immediately, a hard downpour, as the wind picked up. Laurent liked it. He liked the smell of rain, the sound of rain, even the appearance of it. He especially liked it when the sea became very active. He enjoyed listening to the strong waves just as much as the rain, if not more.

He liked grey days with lots of overcast, especially in the summer. It was amazing how much a thunderstorm could change the weather. There was even a day when there was steam coming off the cement outside. It was as if the rain was washing the heat of the day away to give the whole area relief.

There was also something about a storm that brought out the urge to be close and intimate with Damen. Sometimes they’d spend an entire storm laying in bed together, with Laurent’s head on his chest, or Damen’s head on his, either way was fine. He would listen to Damen’s heartbeat and let his hands wander over his chest, stomach, sides, and arm as he let himself be held. When Damen was cuddled up to him with his head on Laurent’s chest, he would play with his hair and kiss the top of his head and just enjoy the feeling of holding him, the weight of him familiar and comfortable.

They would talk to each other in soft, hushed voices, even though it was just them.

It was moments like that that had him overbrimming with affection for the man who chose him, and who he chose for himself.

When he looked over at Damen, he had his arms crossed over his chest with his shoulders hunched.

“Are you ready to go to bed?” Damen asked when he noticed Laurent’s gaze. “We’re getting wet and the rain’s cold.”

“You’re such a baby when it comes to the cold,” Laurent teased.

“I’m pretty sure I kept my comments about you hiding in the shade and being afraid of a little sun to myself.”

“The cold is much easier to handle than the heat. You can’t even compare it.”

“Oh? And how is that?” Damen nudged him, keeping everything light.

“When you get cold you simply add more layers to your clothing. You take a hot bath. You sit in front of the fire. There are also ways to keep your bed warm. When it gets too hot, there’s only so much you can do besides take your own clothes off, and then what? That hardly helps. You can hardly stay in the bath for an entire day.”

“You go in the water to cool your body.”

“I don’t enjoy peeling my skin off after it burns. And you can’t spend all day in the water, as I said. With winter you can add layers to your outfit to make you more comfortable as you go about your day.”

“You can wet a cloth with cold water and put it on the back of your neck.”

“Fashionable.”

“Since when have you cared about fashion?”

“I care about the quality of my fabrics, anything more is unnecessary.” Laurent leaned against Damen’s side and looked out to the sea. Before Damen, Laurent had never lived near the sea. He wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as he did. The water was so calming.

“I’ve never lived by the sea before,” Laurent said, deciding to voice his thoughts. “I like it.”

“I can’t imagine not living by the sea. I always have.”

Laurent smiled and turned to kiss Damen’s warm shoulder. “I know.”

“Do you miss our palace in the center?”

Laurent nodded, his head on Damen’s shoulder. “I do, but I like it here too.”

“We don’t come to Ios often.”

“We should come more. Just not when it gets this hot out during the day, maybe.”

“It’s always hot here, but this is also a stormy season.”

 “I do like that.” Laurent pushed himself away and took one last deep breath. “Alright. I’m ready for bed. Let’s keep the balcony doors and windows open.”

“Alright.”

Laurent grabbed Damen’s hand and led him to the bed. Finally he had the opportunity to sleep comfortably, nestled under the blankets in his husband’s arms and the sound of the storm in the background.


End file.
